Groups call for DEA Hill hearings

A group of organizations is calling on Congress to hold hearings on the Drug Enforcement Administration after reports it attempted to cover up a program that used government surveillance of Americans in criminal investigations.

The collection of nearly two dozen groups, which includes the ACLU, Drug Policy Alliance, Independent Firearms Owners Association and Witness for Peace, on Thursday sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

Text Size

-

+

reset

The letter points to Reuters and New York Times reports about the information collection by the DEA and efforts to conceal it, saying that it contradicts Obama administration assurances that government surveillance is not used against Americans and is only for counterterrorism purposes.

Citing other DEA controversies, the groups ask the committees to hold hearings “to investigate the DEA and hold it accountable for its actions.”

A House Judiciary Committee aide said the issue is likely to come up at a classified hearing the committee is scheduled to hold on National Security Agency data collection this month.